Why did North Korean delegation choose Walkerhill Hotel?
2024-11-03 05:36:16

Kim Yong-chol,<strong></strong> right, vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee of North Korea, walks into Walkerhill Hotel in Seoul, Sunday. Kim and other high-level North Korean delegates will stay at the hotel for three days. / Yonhap
Kim Yong-chol, right, vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee of North Korea, walks into Walkerhill Hotel in Seoul, Sunday. Kim and other high-level North Korean delegates will stay at the hotel for three days. / Yonhap

By Park Si-soo

North Korea again chose Seoul's Walkerhill Hotel for its high-level delegation's lodgings during the delegates' three-day visit. The North Korean leader's sister, Kim Yo-jong, and other delegates stayed there three weeks ago.

A question then arises: why does the North prefer the hotel out of numerous luxury five-star hotels in Seoul?

An irony lies in the hotel's name. It was named after U.S. Army general Walton Harris Walker, who died in an unfortunate car accident during the 1950-53 Korean War. Walker was credited with crushing North Korean troops in many battles, paving the way for the ultimate victory of the combined forces of South Korea and the United Nations.

Experts cite security as the first and foremost reason.

Kim Yong-chol, right, vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee of North Korea, walks into Walkerhill Hotel in Seoul, Sunday. Kim and other high-level North Korean delegates will stay at the hotel for three days. / Yonhap
Walkerhill Hotel
Unlike other luxury hotels in central Seoul with many access routes, Walkerhill is surrounded by Mount Acha and linked with only a handful of narrow roads.

For that reason, Walkerhill was a favorite venue for secret inter-Korean meetings in the 1980s and '90s.

Hotel Shilla is another favorite place for North Korean delegates _for the same reason _ being overlooked by Mount Nam and with limited accessibility. In 1994, then North Korean Prime Minister Yon Hyong-muk stayed at the hotel.

Meanwhile, Ivanka Trump, the U.S. president's daughter and senior adviser, is staying at Grand Hyatt Hotel at Mount Nam. Her hotel and Walkerhill are about 15-20 minutes drive from each other.


(作者:汽车电瓶)